Well guys, as you probably know I've taken a hiatus from wrenching on my racer project and turning up oil cooler adapters on my lathe this weekend in favor of actually doing some riding.
Now to go back a step, my mate Pete (Hefalump) has owned this 1992 BMW K1100LT since 1994, and I've been admiring it from afar, not having the kind of money required to buy one for myself. Pete used the bike mainly for his daily freeway commute into the city, so most of the 153000 Klicks (95000 miles) have been at a steady 60 Mph, with only 5 or 10 minutes of city "stop/start" traffic each day.
Pete is a really meticulous guy (unlike myself) and has had the bike serviced religiously by a BMW dealer since he bought it in 1994 and has kept every receipt for every cent he spent on it, including fuel. Over his 12 year ownership, he's outlaid a whopping $33K ($25K US) on parts and servicing (last year alone, he paid 2500 Aussie dollars, about $1900 US, replacing the front discs and pads!) and all up he's spent another $8K ($6K US) just on gas, incredible! All up, this bike has cost him a shade over $60K! ($45K US)
Anyway, he retired from the army last year and decided to buy himself a new BMW, so he ordered one of those two wheeled Hummers, the BMW R1200GS. "Hmmnnn, so how much are they gonna give you for your "K" bike as a trade in?" I enquired, with a trembling voice. "Believe it or not, they don't even want my K bike young Terence", he replied, "But if they must take it, they've only offered me 3 thousand lousy bucks!" ($2250 US) He spat. "Well then," I said, with a little more confidence "How about
I give you three grand for it then?" Anyway, long story short, we settled on $3650 ($2735 US) and I picked it up on Thursday night about 7.30. Now Pete only lives about a mile from my place, but I decided to take the long way home, so 2.5 hours and 120 miles later, I rolled it thru my garage door, cold, but pretty damn happy.
As you all know it's winter here in Oz, and being the southern-most state on the mainland, it's also the coldest, and lately I've been wondering if my long distance riding days are over. I'm 46 now, and am carrying some injuries from some really bad parachute landings and spectacular bike crashes, not to mention a fair bit of excess flab. Last time I went for more than an hour was on my Suzy GS1000S to Phillip Island back in summer (just a vague memory now, sadly) and although I enjoyed it, by the time I got home my back was singing a sad, sad song. The registration always expires in June and I never bother to pay it until September when the warmer weather returns, cold wet weather and unfaired musclebikes don't seem to mix like they did "back in the day"?
So it was with some trepidation that I set off today, I had no particular destination in mind, but the bike is so comfy, and with so much mid range "oomph", not to mention brilliant handling and brakes (ABS!) that I just kept going, oblivious to the freezing temperatures. I used the freeways to get away from the city, then once out in the sticks I switched to "B" roads and enjoyed some roads that I've never ridden before, with some really fast straights, and also some scary corners, but the "Boomer" handled everything that the weather and the road threw at it admirably. Incidentally, I hate the term "Beemer", it's a 1980's yuppie pet-name for their BMW cars, but back in the 1970's, "Boomer" was the nickname we used for our bikes.
Anyway, I did a total of 220 miles today and filled the bike up twice with 98 Octane fuel (probably not necessary, but Pete has been using premium unleaded for all the bike's life, so I thought I'd continue with this tradition) and the fuel consumption was outstanding, on average I'm getting 51.02 Miles per gallon! Anyway, it was a great ride, and I arrived home cold, but once again, very happy, in the knowledge that I'm not "past it" just yet! Next weekend I'm heading down to see my aging parents, it's a 400 mile round trip, and the weather forecast is for cold, wet, rainy #$%*, but somehow, it doesn't seem to matter any more! Here are a couple of pics of my new "beast". Not a SOHC4, but a very good winter alternative, ha ha! Cheers, Terry.
